4 out of 6

If you had told me before the season that we would take 4 points from Manchester City this year I might have believed you. If you had told me that same thing 13 matches in to the year I would have called you crazy! But now with the Steve Bruce era in the distant past it seems nothing is impossible for Martin O'Neill's Sunderland team.

On Saturday, Sunderland pulled off an improbable draw at Manchester City. The draw halted City's near record setting home winning streak, and also put the hosts in danger of falling 5 points behind their neighbors Manchester United in the title race. The amazing thing is, Sunderland should have won the match. It took a flurry inside the final 8 minutes that produced 2 goals for City just to draw level with Sunderland. City had more of the possession, and creating more chances at goal, but Sunderland were crisp with the ball and took their chances well. If not for Craig Gardner and Nicklas Bendtner missing decent chances, City may not have been able to come back and earn a draw. I wish Sunderland had finished the job and got all 3 points, but an away point in the EPL is tough to complain about. Seb Larsson admitted after the game that the team was disappointment, but also acknowledged that a draw at City is a fine achievement. With Everton winning Sunderland dropped to 9th in the table, but all in all it was a good Saturday for the lads. Here are a few of my initial impressions of the match.

• With a very injury depleted back 4, Sunderland's back line of Bardsley, Turner, Kilgallon, and Colback did a fine job. Young Colback is proving his value by being able to play well in a number of positions. The only disappointments here are that Kilgallon ran out of gas and had to be subbed out. Bardsley also let Balotelli inside allowing the Italian to score his second goal and bring City back to within one.
• James McClean was outstanding all day today.  I thought he was a bit disappointing against Everton, but he was excellent against City.
• Cattermole looked to be back to his excellent form today. He looked great today and controlled the middle of the pitch.
• Sessegnon and Bendtner both played great today. They worked off each other, created space for one another, and caused havoc for the City backline all day.
• I'm not sure where Seb Larsson fits in to O'Neill's long term plan for Sunderland, but he was outstanding today. He may not be the fastest or most direct winger, but he is often very effective. He drifted more centrally today and I thought did an outstanding job.
• It's hard to watch Sunderland play as well as they did today and then remember how poorly we played against Everton. I know that's how football goes sometimes, but we were so sharp at times today, and Tuesday it looked like non-league competition could beat us.

There were lots of positives to take from today. Hopefully the sting of allowing the late equalizing goals doesn't overshadow the joy of playing well on the road in the EPL. We should be full of confidence as we host Tottenham next weekend. Here's hoping to another bit of Martin O'Neill magic and a win over a top side!

Ha'way the lads!

A few pre-Everton thoughts...

After a crazy weekend of traveling all across the southern and Midwestern United States I am happily back at home and looking forward to a normal work week, and also of course looking forward to the FA Cup clash against Everton tomorrow afternoon. It was a great team performance against QPR last Saturday and I'm expectant that the team will be ready for the replay against Everton. Here are a few of my thoughts from the QPR match and some looking forward Everton...

• Colback was fantastic against QPR. He really has been wonderful this year, and if more people were paying attention to the football in the Northeast he'd be mentioned as a player competing for young player of the year. His performance in midfield was most noticed when he moved to LB, because we sorely missed his presence in the middle.
• With O'Shea playing RB it was clear that our central defense isn't as strong. With O'Shea picking up an injury and being out for the Everton match it will take a cleaner performance by our back 4 to keep Everton from the score sheet.
• I really liked the way Gardner played on the right wing and also at right back. He mirrors McClean's direct play and looked very comfortable out wide. I'm still not sure where he fits best on the field, but he's a good headache for the manager to have.
• I thought McClean was back at his best again against QPR, and we'll need him to be strong against Everton. 
• Everton's 5 man midfield gave us problems 10 days ago, and I wonder if O'Neill will adjust any to counter act their tactics. Will he play 3 in the middle and only 1 striker? If he does that who sits? Lots of tactical questions to be asked and answered, and it will be interesting to see how we lineup tomorrow afternoon.
• Here is my expected lineup, in a 4-4-1-1. Mignolet, Bardsley, the Greek, Turner, Bridge, McLean, Cattermole, Vaughan, Larsson, Sessegnon, Bendtner

It should be a great match tomorrow. I expect both teams to throw all they have at this game. Both sides will be coming in with a bit of confidence and I expect a goal less first half and the match to be decided in the last 30 minutes. I'm backing a 1-0 Sunderland win. Bendtner to get the game winner.

Ha'way the Lads!

Keeping perspective

One of the most difficult things to do as a fan is to not over react. Knowing that Martin O'Neills Sunderland squad has beaten sides like Manchester City, Arsenal, and Liverpool you might think to yourself "he has made us in to a side that can challenge for Europe". But then if you watched the match against West Brom or Blackburn you would think we are a side destined for relegation. I'm trying to convince myself not to over react to either thought. Let's look at some positives.

• We play much more organized, and we are getting the most out of players who looked dead to rights under Steve Bruce. 
• Our form at home has dramatically improved. The Stadium of Light has become a difficult place to take points (now if only our grounds crew could get the pitch looking better).
• James McClean has emerged as a real talent and solidified the left side midfield position.
• Jack Colback has continued to develop and looks like he'll be a great player for Sunderland for years to come. Lee Cattermole also seems to have regained his good form but unfortunately hasn't improved all of his decision making (see the sending off after Newcastle). 

Now some of the frustrations...

• We still look like a side who struggles to create lots of goal scoring chances. 
• Stephane Sessegnon is a great talent, but without him in the lineup we look much more pedestrian up front.
• After a spell of good results we have struggled to keep our good form against teams we should beat (West Brom and Blackburn).
• I'm not sure we are deep enough to challenge each match in both the league matches and the cup matches. When we go to our bench our organization and form look much poorer. 

So what I take from all of this is that we are improving, and doing it much quicker than we could have originally expected. Now as fans we need to slow down our expectations and let Martin O'Neill continue to build up the squad as we finish the season. We are still alive in the FA Cup (only 6 teams can say that) and a top half finish is certainly within reach in the league. It's ok to be disappointed in the loss today but let's dust it off, get behind the lads, and come out full of enthusiasm for QPR on Saturday.

Ha'way the Lads!

Enjoying O'Neill

Coming in to this past weekends set of EPL fixtures Sunderland were enjoying Champions League form. We are tied with Arsenal for taking the most points since Martin O'Neill was appointed successor to Steve Bruce. When I read that on Sunday morning I was somewhat surprised, overjoyed for our current success, and a little wary of what's going to happen when our form takes a dip.


I think it is safe to say we are beyond the short term lift a club gets when a new manager comes in. QPR didn't seem to get one of those at all when they got Mark Hughes (glad we avoided him this time around). So Martin O'Neill clearly has us playing much better football. We are more organized, purposeful in defense and attack, and don't seem fazed by any opposition (except West Brom apparently). My question is: how far can O'Neill take the club? It's a little late for us to challenge for Europe this year unless we get in to the Europa league through our finish in the FA Cup, but moving forward, how far can we go?
I'm assuming this summer we'll see some turnover in the squad. Sessegnon apparently still isn't settled in England, there was talk of Richardson wanting out, and Kilgallon has been rumored to be on the move as well. O'Neill will get the chance to put his personal mark on the actual personnel of the squad and not just how Steve Bruce's squad plays. With a full season under O'Neill and a slightly revamped squad it will be interesting to see how we do in the league. I'm trying not to get my hopes to high, but I'm optimistic that we have the makings of a team that will no longer be in relegation battles but will be doing battle for spots in Europe instead.

We're coming to America (I wish)

This past weekend I had the misfortune of missing the FA Cup match against Everton because I was at a party. I've now watched most of the match and seen all the highlights of the 1-1 draw. I won't use this post to write a recap or match thoughts because most of what I would want to say has already been said, but I will say that I'm delighted we earned a draw and a match replay at the Stadium of Light.

One thing I did get to do at the party, which I rarely get to do in the States, is have a long conversation about sports that only included talking about the premiere league. Don't get me wrong, I love some American sports too, but none of it compares with watching Sunderland compete in the EPL. As I talked with my cousins and friends about footy I was struck with how big a market there is for footy in America. Unfortunately none of the people I was with were Sunderland fans (I was with Liverpool, Arsenal, and Barca fans) but I believe that Sunderland could really benefit from a growing fan base in the United States. Here is what I noticed in the conversation we had...

-All of us watch matches whether our team is playing or not.
-All of us were aware of major stories in world football whether our team were a part of the story.
-All of us are spending money on footy. We all own shirts, jerseys, scarfs of our teams and all of us pay to watch the matches.
-We are all real fans who passionately support our clubs. My cousin even flew to London to watch Liverpool play in the Carling Cup final.

So what does any of this mean for Sunderland? I believe the club could really tap in to the US market. Fans here in the States follow the big clubs because that is who is most often on TV and in the news. However, smaller clubs like Newcastle are beginning to get a following because they came to the States and played. Americans are now spending money to watch and follow Newcastle, and they do this because they got the chance to see them play live.
Another reason US fans follow teams is because they have Americans on their teams. Everton and Fulham have growing fan bases here, and all because of Tim Howard and Clint Dempsey. I'm not saying Sunderland should sign an American just to get some more fans, but I believe there is a growing number of quality players coming out of the US and some players are worth taking a look at.
Another way Sunderland could connect with the fans in the States would be to get connected to a club here in the States. Similarly to what they are doing in Ghana, I believe Sunderland could partner up with a club and there could be real mutual benefit both for Sunderland their American partners.

Sunderland has an American owner with ties to both Texas and Missouri. Both states have long and rich heritages of producing great talent, so Mr. Short, if you are reading this (and I assume you are), bring the club over to America for a pre-season tour, connect with a city and a club here in the States, and get ready for the support to pour in!

Who needs to play well?

If Sunderland are going to advance past Everton this weekend it is surely going to take one of our best matches of the season. Everton are enjoying a great run right now as they haven't lost in their last ten matches. They are playing full of confidence and don't fear any side right now. They have gone in to matches against the top teams and come away with some deserved wins. With that being said, I like our chances against anyone and I feel we have the ability to come away with a win. In all fairness, Sunderland can play for the draw and earn a home replay against the Toffees, but I think we have the side that can go in and win outright. Here are three players that I think have to be at their very best in order for us to win on Saturday.

1. John O'Shea- O'Shea will be wearing the captains arm band on Saturday, and he's the first player I think we need to play well in order to lead us to a win. He's been splendid playing center half filling in for the injured Wes Brown, Matt Kilgallon, and Titus Bramble. He and Michael Turner are playing excellent together, but I believe it is O'Shea who has given Turner the confidence he is playing with. 
2. Frazier Campbell- With Nicklas Bendtner's health status still unclear it will be up to Campbell to lead our attacking unit this weekend. I believe he has the pace and skill to give the Everton defenders fits, and without Sessegnon creating space for our attack it will be up to Campbell to lead the way. Whoever he is paired with (Bendtner, Wickham, Ji, Gardner), Campbell will have to be at his best in order for us to create goal scoring opportunities.
3. James McLean- Our young Irish winger has played splendid under Martin O'Neill, but the last few matches he has disappeared for stretches of time. He'll have to be very active in driving the play down the left wing and keeping the Everton defense stretched. 

Obviously it's not just these three that need to play well. But I believe if these three play at their best we stand a great shot of beating Everton and advancing to the last four in the FA Cup.

Ha'way the Lads

5 out of 55

Coming in to today's match, Sunderland had only won 4 out of the previous 54 matches against Liverpool. In the build up to the game it was expected that Sunderland would play a defensive minded match. Without Sessegnon, our main offensive catalyst, and also without Cattermole, our defensive force in the midfield, it was expected that Sunderland may struggle to get going in the match.

The first half went on as many expected it would. Lots of possession for Liverpool with neither team really threatening to score. It was in the second half when Sunderland looked to be settled in and began to take it to Liverpool. After a few spells of good possession Frazier Campbell's shot from outside the area looked headed to the bottom right corner but struck the post. The ball then hit off the head of Liverpool keeper Pepe Reina and fell to the foot of the crashing Nicklas Bendtner who tucked the ball nicely in for the goal.

Liverpool enjoyed plenty of possession after the goal but never looked too dangerous to score. They had a decent chance in the 2nd minute of stoppage time where the ball was ping ponging around in the box but was eventually cleared and Sunderland emerged with a 1-0 home victory.

Here are my initial match thoughts...

• John O'Shea and Michael Turner are turning in to quite the defensive pair in the middle of the pitch. They dominated the Liverpool forwards and kept the Liverpool forwards far from goal for most of the match.
• Wayne Bridge filled in nicely for Kieran Richarson. He looked rusty in a few moments but for the most part he was in good positions to defend well.
• Jack Colback had a good match in the center of the pitch. I thought he was sloppy in possession a few times but he filled in for Cattermole really well.
• McLean looked dangerous a few times but I also thought he gave away possession too easily while we were trying to drain the clock. His youth showed there, but his attacking runs down the flank were dangerous.
• Bendtner and Campbell linked up well today, held up possession, and eventually combined for the game winner. I think we'll be just fine up top without Sessegnon.

All in all it was an excellent team performance. Martin O'Neill was at his managerial best as he shifted the lineup around, gave his players a job, trusted them to do it, and led the lads to another premier league win. All in all it's an excellent way to prepare the team for the FA Cup match at Everton next week.

Ha'way the Lads!